With the arrival of Peak Oil, the curtain has closed on Act 1 of the drama Petroleum Man. What will happen in Act 2? Chekhov said, "If there's a gun on the wall at the beginning of the play, by the end it must go off." In the world's nuclear arsenal are many guns on the wall. If life copies art, will there be an Act 3 in which the players, having learned their lesson the hard way, live sustainably? To explore these and other questions... FTW's Act 2 Blog. Read, comment, take heart! Orkin

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Revolution and Victory Gardens

The former Nixon speechwriter who crafted a whole persona out of a professorial drone (in the field of Economics, no less) is sounding a little bewildered these days. If the old saying is true that a radical is a conservative who's been arrested, Ben's acting like a Wall Street hotshot who wakes up to find himself in a jail cell with a bunch of weirdo peak-oil salesmen.Politics makes strange bedfellows. Like so many other things these days, (Putin, for one,) human commonality is rearing its head in the oddest places.

Which means that so is enmity.

My former enemy is now my ally so who is now my enemy? Oh, right; I am.

The head-scratching, "expert"-addicted American is going, perhaps for the first time, to have to do some independent thinking. Not grabbing the nearest soundbite and repeating it to his buddies as though it were sage counsel; not summing people up with the snappiest stereotype, but real research, upending all his fondest, most comforting notions and assumptions.

Once that process begins, there is no end. The rabbit-hole of inquiry is one in which question leads only to bigger, more fundamental question. No longer can we automatically endow the older or even the more expert with authority. Like the earliest victims of AIDS who, for lack of knowledge among the medical profession, were forced to do their own research and come up with far-flung solutions which their doctors then adopted for their other patients as well, we must become the experts.

At least, expert enough to make rational decisions about our own lives. And in a world in which nothing can any longer be taken for granted, that is going to take some effort.

Where to start?

From scratch. Seeking knowledge not just from the purported experts, the "suits," but from anyone who seems to have a handle on whatever the given problem is. The off-hand dismissal of people who lack credentials can be suicidal.

In this way, true sustainability must come hand in hand with equality. Our deeply-rooted pyramid notion of society is going to have to crumble. Pyramids were built on slave labor. A different social structure might have erected a differently-shaped tomb.

Let the festivities begin.

****************

Meanwhile, the New York Times is also sounding radical note, muted by reasonably-cadenced prose.

In an article entitled, "Farmer in Chief," in the Sunday Magazine, journalist Michael Pollan lays out a presidential policy plan for growing food during the next administration.

It is filled with points which will sound familiar to readers of this blog as well as peak oilists and permaculturalists everywhere, denouncing monocultures which depend so heavily on pesticides and fertilizers and calling for a return to solar- rather than fossil fuel-based agriculture.

Pointing out the Dale Allen Pfeiffer nugget which Mike Ruppert has repeated in countless lectures, that it takes 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce one calorie of food as well as other equally galvanizing tidbits (it takes 5000 gallons of water to produce a pound of feedlot beef) - the article also provides some history of our current food-growing practises:

"After World War II, the government encouraged the conversion of the munitions industry to fertilizer — ammonium nitrate being the main ingredient of both bombs and chemical fertilizer — and the conversion of nerve-gas research to pesticides."

That's a loaded sentence, couched in a multi-thousand word article, like a landmine in an idyllic pastorale. How many Americans, furrowing their brows as they read it over their morning coffee, are going to sit bolt upright in bed eighteen hours later at 3 A.M.? Probably not many, but otherwise Pollan would never have gotten away with it. This is but one straw on the camel's back and far from the last one.

Pollan advocates regional food economies both in America and around the world and recommends setting up a Strategic Grain Reserve modelled on the current Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

He also points out:

"Right now, most of the conservation programs run by the U.S.D.A. are designed on the zero-sum principle: land is either locked up in “conservation” or it is farmed intensively. This either-or approach reflects an outdated belief that modern farming and ranching are inherently destructive, so that the best thing for the environment is to leave land untouched."

Some of his proposals are creatively sensible:

To qualify as 'food' he recommends that an edible substance contain a minimum ratio of micronutrients per calorie of energy.

And while he doesn't use the phrase "Food, not lawns" he proposes that "the White House [should] observe one meatless day a week - a step that, if all Americans followed suit, would be the equivalent, in carbon saved, of taking 20 million midsize sedans off the road for a year."

The White House lawn should also be a paragon for the rest of the country.

"[T]ear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden. When Eleanor Roosevelt did something similar in 1943, she helped start a Victory Garden movement that ended up making a substantial contribution to feeding the nation in wartime. (Less well known is the fact that Roosevelt planted this garden over the objections of the USDA which feared home gardening would hurt the American food industry.)"

28 comments:

Great article Jenna,The A-hole that had the place I am renting before me thought that the "No Blad of Grass" concept was best. There is just a massive slab of concrete in what could have been a nice garden back there. But when TSHTF, I'm bugging out to a trio of houses my extended family owns in a court near a wild life preserve and a river. Not perfectly ideal but its home, and its family. And I have awoken my family long ago!

I write to congratulate you on your 'politically correct' thought police Ministry of Love Room 101 'Power' jargon, in aforementioned article of yours.

I wonder, did you include in your speech to the large gathering of investors in La Jolla any of the many hundreds of bits of information that could be provided to any sheeple prole who wants to listen, to make them realize the enormity of how the 'Big Brother Power Party' 'lawyers' 'writers' 'actors' and most definitely 'economists' have been giving them Abner Louima 'law', 'written word' 'performances' and 'economics', repeatedly, over and over.

I am most impressed with your commitment and dedication to emotionally, psychologically, financially and politically ......****ing 'the people', your readers.

We even have people who don't even know how they are LYING TO THEMSELVES, (in terms of Brad Blanton and Homer Lea's definitions of honesty), accusing 'THE LIARS' of being the cause of the problem. Nor do these idiots, such as yourself, WHO ARE VERY, VERY VERY WELL AWARE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN RESPECTABLE INDIVIDUALS WHO – UNLIKE YOU – DID NOT SELL THEIR SOULS FOR THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, FOR THE PRIVILEGE TO ....**** THE PEOPLE, AS A RESPECTED MEMBER OF THE ....**** POLITICALLY CORRECT THOUGHT POLICE!!

These individuals warned – some for years and years – about these issues, and you gutless two-face hypocrite don't have the ..... to even inform the fanclub you love ....****ing, of them; because then you will no longer be able to be giving them some ..... treatment up their proverbial psychological, emotional and financial ......!! And then you talk about "revolution"!!

How many letters you written to Goverment Officials demanding a return to law and order? How many flyers you handed out informing citizens of their Jury Nullification Rights? How many times you informed them that living in your Big Brother Demockery is dangerous, because their one imagined electoral 'vote', isn't even real; its as 'real' as their fiat currency money? How many times in how many of your articles have you written to inform the American people of the difference between your Big Brother Demockery, as an illusionary one-vote system opposed to a Republic, which is a three-vote system. Three votes to check YOUR tyranny, not just one. How many times have you informed your readers that the Mainstream Big Brother Media --- YOU!!! -- are the largest force of tyranny and oppression in America?

Or, you just sitting at your desk calling people who in 1995 saw THE TRUTH about what was happening about America AND DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT: 'Face of Evil Terrorists'.... ????

You are a two-faced gutless hypocrit, and the only honest thing about your article, was that you did not include 'truth-teller' as one of your qualifications!

You honest about thinking about a 'revolution'…. Try a revolution of consciousness, for one, because without a revolution in consciousness, Mr. Stein, you are just doing more of the same politically correct thought police ....****ing of your readers, attempting to provide them some little quick fix bandaid to their rotting brain braintumours…. All so you can keep your little ..... well lubricated.

Thought the following links may provide any remnant of critical enquiry in the submissive obsequies legalistic meme sheeple hole, that you consider your 'brain', the Ministry of Love Diatribe it emits, considered it appears by the New York Times to have been, and continue to be, excellent sheeple koolaid to lead the masses to the Slavery Exchanges Slaughterhouses; demanding they have confidence, in the self same people who are emotionally, psychologically, politically and economically Abner Louima ....****ing them with Politically Correct Ministry of Love Thought-Crime Double-Think Bull Shit.

Now, if that one little cell of critical enquiry exists in your mind dominated by ....****ing meme's to the point that you are incapable of any critical thinking and independent thought; that little cell of critical thinking may wish to ponder any of the following THIRTEEN (13) JMCSwan links:

[original comment may be found at: www.vote-4-1776.co.nr, posted on October 13, 2008 8:47:00 PM IRKST]

My comments:

It appears that:

1. Your emotional, intellectual, psychological and financial perspective does not appreciate a comment to your blog containing the (emotional, psychological, intellectual and financial) truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

2. You consider it your duty to be the nanny and big brother political correctness thought police protector for FTW's other blog readers -- your little children -- to protect them from a few words, which YOU consider 'obscene'.

3. You proceed to edit the letter, of all the words you consider 'obscene', and furthermore, you fail to provide any semblance of honourable conduct by providing a link to where the original may be read; i.e. www.vote-4-1776.co.nr or vote-4-1776.co.nr.

Accordingly, I herewith request that you either (a) remove your editted version of the letter, without a link to the original source in it's entirety; or (b) provide a direct link to the original source; for FTW blog readers -- emotionally, psychologically, intellectually and financially capable of digesting a few Orkin Thought Police 'obscene' words -- to read in it's entirety.

Let's just hope your awakening to the Constitutional Principles of freedom of speech, adults as adults (not your children) and your readers as adults and peers, capable of reading a few words, you consider 'obscene' won't be too little too late.

Respectfully,

Lara Braveheart (aka Dr. Slamdunk Zhivago)

PS: For Your Information: I much prefer receiving communication of the brutal honesty variety (even if Ms. J. Orkin's sensitive sensibilities may be offended by her definition of certain words as obscene') where an individual calls a spade a spade, even if any of the brutal anger may be directed at myself. In fact, I consider the receipt of such a brutally honest communication, a form of HONOURABLE COMMUNICATION FROM THE INDIVIDUAL, AND ALTHOUGH I MAY DISAGREE WITH THEIR OPINION, I HIGHLY VALUE THEIR COURAGE AND INTEGRITY TO BE BRUTALLY HONEST, AND CONSIDER IT ONE OF THE HIGHEST FORMS OF RESPECT; FOR WHICH I RESPECT THEM!! I do NOT respect your two-faced gutless cowardice.

PPS: The irony and two-faced hypocrisy of your cowardice, considering your alleged opinions submitted in your article Revolution and Victory Gardens, particularly with reference to 'revolution', 'being your own worst enemy', being your own version of the 'head scratching expert addicted American on defining 'obscenity' for your children, imagining that it is remotely possible to be capable of independent thinking, when your current thinking does not acknowledge the reality, that your 'independent thinking' can only occur within the very, very narrow confines of the emotional, psychological, political and economic straight-jacket PRISON that YOUR THINKING HAS LOCKED YOU INTO!!!! Ms. Orkin -- the "PARADIGM" that Mike has spoken about so much, that needs to be changed -- YOU ARE REINFORCING!!! Independent thinking, inside your little politically correct thought police little prison box, ain't outside the box independent thinking, Ms. Orkin; but you are more than welcome to the illusion, and reverence for your ideological, emotional and psychological chains.

on a lighter note, i remember my grandmothers garden; it started out a victory garden and graduated to a yearly ritual for her and our family; what she couldn't grow in that little patch in the backyard, she traded with the local farmers either with produce/fruit or the young muscles of her sons in the hay/harvest fields - she had 5 apple trees, four currents bushes and an herb garden; she canned, dried and 'put up' everything - the root cellar was packed by the end of the growing season - when the farmers were preparing the fields before planting, the whole town smelled of manure when it was time for them to fertilize - it's what they used - i was a post ww2 baby and we kids benefited from those gardens too - everyone in town had a differnt collection of fruits and veggies - we kids had a route for our daily snacks that involved fruit in nearly any yard within our vicinity whether we were roaming the area cemetary, overlooking the lake, at the inlet where we 'fished' - the far end of the lake where we got the paddle boats or just wandered over, through and into everything - even the old mill by the damn - the swimming hole with the rope swing with a tire on the end - and all we kids had every adult in town, parenting us - we couldn't get away with anything ! lol hmmmm that was when the world was smaller and tv/internet hadn't eroded how all the 'folks' interacted - i think we'll be getting back to some of these 'old ways' and they were far from bad times in a childs memory :-) - there are some things to look forward to and a hope of goodness coming out of all this ! i have my seeds ready...........

While reading the posts this morning, I was reminded of an incident that occurred during my exuberant and fiery youth. During a visit with my father, I launched into a diatribe about some current event that had angered me mightily. Wanting to show the depth of my feeling and the ferocity of my outrage, I spewed my words with vigor. If memory serves, it went something like this:

Those ****ing ***tards should be tied to a beam and shot. ****ing idiots like that should have their ****ing ***holes *******

Well, you probably have the idea now. The subject of that event, though it incensed me then, is long forgotten. However, my father's words, three decades ago, are very clear.

"Anne"....he said...."a person of your notable intelligence, vast command of the English language, and demonstrated ability to articulate quite complex matters, should not need to resort to repeated use of simple vulgarity to make a point. Obscenities are common and not very effective. Well spoken arguments will serve you better."

The frustration evidenced by the profanity and dissonance of the message above, underscores just how difficult it is to grasp the magnitude of the changes western societies face from the end of cheap energy. That sort of anger and venting will become more and more common as people wake up from the endless growth mindset, and come to grips with the lies our financial and political leaders have sold us for decades. It remains one of our biggest challenges to guide people constructively and mindfully though this difficult time in history, in order to best redesign our institutions to serve all the people once again, and ensure the best possible futures for ourselves and coming generations.

Considering the environmental blowback from mother nature herself, and the recognition that a finite planet has finite resources we all must share, it's time for another look at Seven Generation Sustainablity.

The words to British band Blur's song "To The End" come to mind after reading the comments here:

"All those dirty words,they make us look so dumb.Drinking far too much,and neither of us mean what we say.

(Chorus):Well you and I,collapsed in love.Well it looks like we might have made it.Yes it looks like we made it to the end.

What happend to us?Soon it will be gone forever.Infatuated only with ourselves,and neither of us can think straight anymore.

(Repeat chorus)-Damon Albarn

And,as Mark Robinowit'z OilEmpire.org has pointed out about certain other sites,PortlandIndymedia's discussion forum for example,a distinction should be made between editing and censorship.From my point of view it is the only mistake Jenna made,and again in my opinion can and should be overlooked if one considers that she is likely one busy bee:using the word "censored" instead of "edited".Censoring to my mind would have been refusing to post the comment at all,or deleting words that were actually useful in getting the point across rather than a mere opening of one's steam valve(more like going Defcon 4 and emptying the missle sihlos).Besides,it was kind of more fun reading with the chosen explitives edited out.It allowed the reader to use their imagination as to which(witch) curses were being chanted.;)

Jenna, you should know your article was a thoughtful, inspirational piece of writing, as has been par for the course here on the Blog, and of course throughout the history of FTW.

It seems I'm not the only one here having trouble in relating the importance, deeper level significance, and inter-relation of current events to their families and friends. Immediately following its publication in August '06, I shared the Economic Alert #4 with those closest to me. with one exception, I was essentially laughed out of the room.I showed the same piece of writing to the same people three weeks ago, and provoked a chin scratch, and an overwhelming "It'll get better, it always does, and the people on tv say it will" attitude. I guess my question is, when we know what's ahead, and that these bailout packages are only going to grow more ineffective while sapping us of necessary resources (and time), are open letters to our newspapers, or local and regional officials really enough? what else can we do?

I'd also like to extend a thank you to all participants here who've engaged in the rational and informed discourse in these increasingly tense times. I truly believe it will be those of us paying attention in Act 2 who are most able to ease the transition and aid progress to Act 3 in our own communities...

And the heartfelt thank you Mike has heard a thousand and one times for the toil and risk he's taken in the pursuit of his dedication, as a Patriot, to help his fellow countrymen make their country better, and to help fellow human beings make this world a more just, more honest place.

Excerpt: "The effectiveness of this unprecedented transfer of wealth from ordinary citizens to the top tiers of the business world remains to be seen. It will certainly insulate the very rich from the consequences of their own greed and folly and fraud; but it is not at all clear how much these measures will shield the vast majority of people from the catastrophe that has been visited upon them by the elite.

I would like to offer a simple principle that has been echoing in my consciousness for the past several years. During this time I have found many others that understand this simple principle and realize the profound impact that it has on the course that our social constructs take. This principle is most easily recognized when it is given with a simple illustration.

Individual Rights can easily be determined by consciously imagining an individual floating in nothingness and determining what that individual would need in order to Live. This may appear silly but please bear with me.

1st would be Oxygen as that is the most urgent need to sustain Life and therefore there needs to be an atmosphere. We all have access to oxygen and therefore humanity has aligned itself with this Universal Law to an extent. To truly honor this Universal Law we must respect the forest ecosystem. Trees are the main source of Oxygen replenishment. They are extremely efficient at cleaning the atmosphere as well. Our atmosphere once contained approximately 35% oxygen and is now down to about 20%. Longevity increases with an increase in oxygen content in the atmosphere. Since forests produce the majority of oxygen as well as clean the atmosphere, by extension forests are an inherent part of our Universal Birthright.

2nd would be Water. Humanity has been a wise servant in ensuring that we are in alignment with this Universal Law. We have done wonders in ensuring (in the west anyways) that everyone has access to "clean" drinking water although there are areas in this world that are still in need of sufficient supplies of water. It is known that planting trees increases the amount of rainfall in the areas where the trees are planted. This helps to recharge the local aquifers providing a source of good drinking water. A good link to this info can be found here. Once again by extension forests are an inherent part of our Universal Birthright.

3rd would be Food. Oxygen, Water and Land are needed to grow Food. By extension this makes Land a Universal Birthright. Land is something that no human being can claim to have created yet is something that is needed for the Life of an individual to flourish. Is it known that a diet high in fresh produce extends the Life of individuals. Without Land individuals are forced to labor in order to earn the money to either rent or purchase space on which to Live. This is the most subtle yet insidious form of slavery. Land is also where the materials for Clothing and Shelter originate which are also needs. Land is a Universal Birthright!

Oxygen, Water and Land are the Universal Birthright of every Living Being!

This example illustrates in a simple manner that everything is connected and humanity as a species can only be successful with our social constructs by honoring those Universal Birthrights inherent in Every Living Being. While humanity is struggling to understand the causes behind the current economic crisis the Universal Laws instituted by the Creator are waiting to be called into humanity's consciousness. The downfall of every "great" social construct has been directly related to humanity's blindness concerning the Creator's Universal Laws. Without Oxygen we die. Without Water we die. Without Food we die. These Universal Laws cannot be denied. They are simple and straightforward. The bible mentions the parable of a cup overflowing with abundance when we follow certain precepts. Life is the precept. America became the great nation is did because of the fact that individuals could freely settle Land. There are spiritual principles at work here and when we follow those principles Humanity is blessed. When not followed our social constructs break down.

There is a simple way for every human being to have equal and free access to Land. Remove ALL Land from the marketplace. It is the Creators and doesn't belong to any one human being but to all Life. In turn charge leases on ALL Land based on the current market values and return 100% of the resulting revenue to every man, woman and child equally in the form of a yearly Land Dividend payment. For example:

1. This individual leases a piece of Land in a highly commercial environment (downtown) and therefore the demand for this piece of Land is high so is fetches a high lease value - $5000/yr

2. This individual leases a piece of Land in the suburbs. There is access to Public services but less opportunity for commercial activity. The demand for this piece of Land is lower than the first and therefore the lease amounts to $3000/yr.

3. This individual leases a piece of Land in the country. This Land has a creek and is 2 acres. This Land is desirable but is located further from Public services and therefore fetches a lease of $2500/yr.

4. This individual leases a lot in a small town. The opportunities are fewer than in a city but there is easy access to Public services and the space is only 1/5 acre. This piece of Land fetches $1500/yr in lease payments.

5. This individual leases 10 acres in the desert. This is the least desirable piece of Land far from Public services. The lease on this Land fetches on $200/yr.

The total lease payments on the above parcels is - $12,200

Divide the $12,200 by the 5 individuals and we get $2440. This is the Land Dividend check that each individual would receive. The individuals leasing the more desirable Land would pay more than they receive in Land Dividend payments while the individuals who lease the less desirable Land would receive more than their Land Dividend payment. This in effect makes the average parcel of Land free.

When we build our society upon Universal Laws - the Laws inherent in Creation and set forth by the Creator we find ourselves in the everlasting Kingdom. Just by following the precepts of Life and making these Universal Laws the foundation of our social constructs the rest of humanity's endeavors will follow naturally. All religions teach the Golden Rule of "Love thy Neighbor" and building our social constructs upon the precepts of Universal Laws sets our fellow human beings Free from the dictates of our own personal desires. This is the greatest gift we can give to one another and the greatest honor we can formulate towards the Creator.

Obviously the advantage to requiring comment approval is the ability to filter out the kind of diffuse, pointless, and foul-mouthed rants that fill the comment sections of so many blogs.

Meanwhile, I am finding that the jolt provided by morning coffee is now replaceable by the daily news of how much more money is being stolen from the Little People to further stuff the pockets of elites, who are working hard at squeezing every last drop from us before departing with their booty.

This is a story of the impossible,no matter how bleak the future looks,there is hope!What brings people together, keepsthem civil, keeps them positive,gives them hope?Why do we strive against huge Odds?

rice farmer, i saw this morning news those banks collectively got 250 million - yesterday i saw an article saying the 'bailout bill' had a provision nullifying the limit on how much U.S. money could be lent to foreign banks and that foreign banks ie. the big eight meeting would be receiving a portion of the bailout bucks....

Mike and Jenna, You guys have spoiled us lately with your frequent posts, I am starting to go through withdrawals. I think most other "leading" minds in this regard just don't quite cut it for me in terms of their own original critical analysis of the big picture. You should be a millionaire in my view.

This is the only place I could go to express what I am feeling right now.Every discussion forum I have been to,people are totally buying into the new corporate media smear campaign on Cynthia McKinney.It is really upsetting.I feel so bad for her.You folks may have seen the footage by now of her taking about the 5000 prisoners that had been executed.Well,the media has once again put her before the firing squad.The public appears to be swallowing it hook line and sinker,and it is making me sick with all the racist/sexist remarks,and saying she is crazy.

Does anyone out there know of any further information on this issue?All I can find is the video of her making the statement,and a lot of hit pieces.I went to OilEmpire.org to see if Mark Robinowitz had updated the page there on Cynthia,and all I was found was a big blank white page.Hopefully that means he is currently working on that page.